Jury Duty?

[Corrie]

Even though I'm legally allowed to, I haven't been called yet. Thank god. I've heard it's boring.

 

[AnimalCrossingPerson]

I'd go, but I think it would be more fun to decline, just to make somebody somewhere really angry.

Bad idea.

 

[KarlaKGB]

I think the rationale behind having a jury of "ordinary" people is they are usually not connected to the people who make the laws, which reduces the chance of making politically motivated verdicts. Civilian jurors may also be more likely to really consider the impact of sending someone to prison when making their verdict while professional jurors and judges may consider it more "routine" to send someone to prison. Yes, being forced into jury duty is inconvenient for people, but if it were a volunteer or full-time position, then it would inevitably become political.

it also forms the basis for the "reasonable person" test in many laws. for example, use of deadly force in self defence. one of the four criteria for a valid use of deadly force is that you "reasonably believe you're in imminent danger of death, rape, kidnapping or serious bodily harm". in this case, a jury would would essentially ask themselves if they would have believed they were in imminent danger a tthe time.

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

I was called for jury duty last month, but since I'm 15, I was excused from it.